Does anyone remember this segment ? Isn't this what WWE is missing ?

[Scuba 06]

[YOUTUBE]LmhUnLvI0z4[/YOUTUBE]

Sorry for the bad video quality, but this was the only copy I could find online. Maybe if someone found the entire episode online that would be great but, anyway. I am sure many fans saw this segment back in 2001, and still remember it well. There is a reason I am bringing it up and, and why I never forgot it. It just wasn't a segment worth remembering because it was part of one the most hyped main events in Wrestlemania history. It wasn't just because it had both Steve Austin and The Rock involved in it. Those were obviously significant contributing factors. However, I really enjoyed this segment because I think it was an excellent and unique method to use in creating hype for a major match. Unfortunately, since this segment was made, I can not recall any other instance of it being reused in a major WWE program. Maybe I am making a bigger deal of it than it is, but I think it is one of most undervalued and unappreciated segments in wrestling history. To me, this what a BIG FIGHT is all about.

I don't really watch WWE anymore, but I have heard people say this is the "Reality Era." Well, I think when you watch this, unless you are doing a shoot, it doesn't get much more real than this. To me as fun as shoots are, it's kind of a cheap way to grab interest and devalues the spectacle of wrestling. When I watch this segment, what immediately jumps to mind is the aura of the build up to a great heavyweight match, reminiscent of that we have seen in great days of classic boxing bouts. To me this segment is special because it doesn't feel like you are ready to see another "wrestling match" but a true clash of titans. To summarize what I am trying to articulate, think of it this way. Is wrestling a soap opera of sorts, and is that not some of the appeal ? But do you not tire at times of the same, repackaged segments to build heat between two guys who come off more like cartoon characters than actual human beings. Do we not get the sick of the overdone acting, and exaggerated animosity in a fued.

In wrestling we are always trying to build around the characters, and although that is important, we seem to overlook something just as important, the reason they are fighting in the first place, for the title. That is why I love this segment. Austin summarizes it so clearly. "I Have to beat you." Winning the title is all that matters. Personal animosity is irrelevant. No silly jokes or trash talk. No run ins or beat downs. No trying to outdo one another in a promo. Just a laid back, stripped down, basic segment that displayed two guys sitting across from one another, Mano-a-Mano, talking about the importance of this moment. Two men, looking not like super heroes or villains, but real human beings, each articulating the not desire but, NEED to be the absolute best in the business they love. That is what I feel like is missing in wrestling. The prestige of the title. The importance of the winning and being the best. Respect for your competitor and the sport. To me it shouldn't always have to be about heat or revenge. At heart its about who is better at our sport. It was truly something special.

 

[Wald]

So long as it doesn't thread into kayfabe areas it would be great. Rock and Austin did it very well, talking about how the WWE Title is the pinnacle of everyone's career and what it means to them. Makes us believe that both will hate losing the match even if the outcome is predetermined.

Problem with doing it in today's era though is that the WWE Title isn't as prestigious any more due to booking errors or the now held assumption that wrestlers grow too big for the belt. I mean people argue that Cena shouldn't have the title any more because he is too popular when in reality we should be arguing that Cena is the one guy who the belt should revolve around at all times because he is so popular. Hogan never stopped going for the belt, Austin never stopped I don't see why Cena should. This argument happened first with guys like HBK, Triple H and Undertaker, I hated it then and I hate it now. Hell the Undertaker's last goal in his career should be presented as coming back for one last shot at the title at Wrestlemania. It should be that important.

We even now have wrestlers on DVDs and in interviews telling us how it isn't important whether you win or lose a match, that belts are just props in a storyline etc. Until you cut out that BS interviews like this won't work again.

 

[closet_fan]

So long as it doesn't thread into kayfabe areas it would be great. Rock and Austin did it very well, talking about how the WWE Title is the pinnacle of everyone's career and what it means to them. Makes us believe that both will hate losing the match even if the outcome is predetermined.

Problem with doing it in today's era though is that the WWE Title isn't as prestigious any more due to booking errors or the now held assumption that wrestlers grow too big for the belt. I mean people argue that Cena shouldn't have the title any more because he is too popular when in reality we should be arguing that Cena is the one guy who the belt should revolve around at all times because he is so popular. Hogan never stopped going for the belt, Austin never stopped I don't see why Cena should. This argument happened first with guys like HBK, Triple H and Undertaker, I hated it then and I hate it now. Hell the Undertaker's last goal in his career should be presented as coming back for one last shot at the title at Wrestlemania. It should be that important.

We even now have wrestlers on DVDs and in interviews telling us how it isn't important whether you win or lose a match, that belts are just props in a storyline etc. Until you cut out that BS interviews like this won't work again.

The belts really don't mean much to wrestlers. Even back then, they didn't care much about it. I watched the Jake The Snake DVD and he even admitted that he didn't care about having a belt. He cared a lot about the money that came with it because obviously, back then anyways, you got a bump up in pay if you held the world title, but most wrestlers don't really care.

That's why I never understand why people think slapping a belt on someone is going to make them better. It won't Axel has shown that. The wrestler makes the belt, not the other way around.

You figure now with Bryan and Orton, Orton needs the belt more than Bryan does. Bryan is already over and will stay over. He doesn't need a belt to boost him up anymore than he is now. Orton's character got stale and many forgot about him. He needs that thing now more than anyone else.

 

[SSJPhenom]

This is one of the greatest interviews of all time. I remember when this interview first aired. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and that's make the match between the two of them all the more important then what it already was.

I don't think that this kind of thing is missing from the WWE today. Guys still talk about how important the WWE Championship is to them. In the Rock's last come back the only thing that he wanted to do was win the WWE Championship. CM Punk kept the title for 434 consecutive days and while he held it, all he would talk about was how important the title was to him. Hell, just a few weeks ago when Heyman demanded an apology from Punk; Punk came out and said that he would like nothing more than to be WWE Champion and if Heyman could get him there then maybe he should apologize. Cena talked all summer about how important the title was and how if anyone was going to beat him for it they would have to earn it. All D Bry wants to do right now is be WWE Champion.

I agree that there are those in the business that don't really care about championships, however, those are the ones that will be mid card for life and will never amount to much at all in the wrestling business. An above poster talked about how Jake Roberts said that the championship didn't mean much to him; well that's why he never held the damn thing. So yes, we have those that don't really care about the title and then we have those that want nothing more then to be the best in the business and be the champion like Punk, Cena, Bryan, Orton, and others. As long as we have people like them, the championships will always be important.

 

[Scuba 06]

I think you all make good points, and you are right in saying that there do exist certain stars who do take the significance of being champion seriously. That was a point I was trying to express in my previous statement. With that said, what I was really trying to bring attention to, which I guess I didn't make clear enough, was that this was a model of how wrestling could be presented, and how it could marketed to a skeptical audience as more of legitimate competition rather than a play. I know that sounds somewhat unrealistic in terms of how WWE generates its viewers, and it goes against the classic formulas of face and heel, gaining heat etc.

I do feel however, trying to connect with the prestige of the olden days of wrestling, i.e Bruno Sammarinto. Or trying to recapture or recreate that aura reminiscent of the golden era of boxing, I feel that presenting the programming in this fashion could open more eyes, and in turn more doors to world of wrestling as a legitimate competition instead of just a form of entertainment. Look at the success of MMA and UFC for example. I am not a very big fan of that type of exhibition but you can not deny that their is a massive market for it out there. Unfortunately, I know it all comes down to dollars, and WWE isn't going to change a format that works.

Maybe I am just getting too old for wrestling. Like I previously stated I haven't paid attention to WWE on a regular basis for quite some time now. Part of the reasons are the things that make WWE or Pro Wrestling what it is, what makes it different and where it derives it's magic, the artistry of a show and theatre. But like I said, and I know I am not alone on this, although gimmicks can be fun, and the spectacle of good versus bad can be entertaining, I do think many fans tire of the drama associated with the show. The simplicity of faces and heels, the overacting, goofy and over the top story lines, overtly scripted promos and rehashed formulas and segments.

That is why this interview was so refreshing to me when I saw it again. It looks as close to making wrestling appear as a legitimate competition more so than any other segment I think I've ever seen presented on WWE television. Obviously it helps that the two guys in it are among the biggest stars and best speakers in the company's history, but none the less, it doesn't take away from the fact it had a very natural, organic feel that didn't feel like the audience was being dumbed down, or being spoon fed who to cheer or root against. I'm not saying wrestling has to be real or that finishes shouldn't be pre-determind, however I do feel as though it could be presented more like a sport than entertainment, and still be successful.

 

[jameyt2003]

To me a title in wrestling still matters. I do enjoy seeing a top guy having a brief mid card feud like The Rock and Billy Gunn or Triple H and Eugene. For me the WHC is in good shape right now with guys like ADR, RVD, Christian, Sandow, Rhodes, Ziggler, and Langston fighting for the belt. Guys that fit the belt and I believe make for good match ups. I believe the talent is there but the stakes need to be raised.